A rising number of IPOs have set aside allocations to individual investors in 2025, coinciding with both the IPO market’s ongoing rebound in activity and retail investors’ highly visible return to the stock market.
The retail investing boom of the pandemic, born on Reddit boards and fueled by GameStop’s wild run, showed the power of coordinated activity from individual investors. More recently, retail investors have helped fuel the explosion of SPAC offerings and encouraged IPOs in areas like crypto, AI infrastructure, and aerospace and defense. More companies are now engaging with individual investors, many of whom are also customers, and IPO allocations are emerging as the next logical arena.
Upcoming IPO Gloo Holdings (GLOO) is the latest to disclose a retail component. Other notable 2025 IPOs with retail carve-outs include Pattern Group (PTRN; +14% from IPO), Stubhub (STUB; -49%), Via Transportation (VIA; -18%), Circle Internet Group (CRCL; +147%), and CoreWeave (CRWV; +87%). Most reserved around 1-5% for retail investors, though crypto exchange Gemini (GEMI; -57%) notably set aside 30%, one of the highest we’ve seen for a sizable deal. While it likely allowed Gemini to price 56% above the midpoint (the highest since 2019), retail participation may have weighed on performance, since retail investors are typically an important source of aftermarket demand.
So far in 2025, 10% of the year’s $50+ million IPOs formally disclosed a retail component, up from 3% last year. However, we note that IPOs may offer shares to retail investors via Fidelity and other platforms without disclosing that fact in the prospectus, so while the true number is likely higher, the extent of the uptick may partly reflect improved transparency.
To read the rest of the article, sign up for a free trial of IPO Pro, the platform that gives you all of the IPO information you need, all in one place.
